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Log inAmistad sails into Portland with lesson in history
Amistad sails into Portland with lesson in history
by Outspoken on Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:35 am
Amistad sails into Portland with lesson in history
The ship is a re-creation of the original schooner, which was seized by its African captives in 1839.
By ANN S. KIM
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
The Amistad pulled up to the Maine State Pier on Thursday afternoon, ready to begin its stint as a floating classroom in Portland for the next week.
The visit is part of an 18-month journey commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trades in the United Kingdom and the United States. The United Kingdom outlawed the trade in 1807 and the United States followed the next year, although slavery was still practiced.
The Amistad's 14,000-mile voyage retraced the routes of the slave trade. The ship set sail last year in Connecticut, traveled to England and Portugal, and then to Sierra Leone, where captives of the original Amistad eventually returned. The ship visited other spots in Africa before sailing across the Atlantic to Barbados and U.S. ports.
The voyage is one made "in the spirt of freedom and unity and democracy," as well as a celebration of the captives' return to Sierra Leone, said Donald George, the international coordinator for Amistad America, the organization behind the trip.
George is among the Sierra Leoneans who will be teaching visitors about the history of the Amistad.
The ship is a re-creation of the original Amistad, a coastal cargo schooner that was seized by its African captives in 1839. The incident, which was at the center of a human rights case, became the subject of the 1997 Steven Spielberg film of the same name.
The schooner offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the history of the era, and it is an ongoing educational experience for the students and crew who have been aboard for various legs of the journey, George said.
In addition to history and sailing, they learn to work together and become better leaders, he said.
"The moment you join Amistad, we recalibrate your thinking," George said.
In 1839, despite the abolition of the slave trade, 53 Africans were captured and brought to Cuba. Falsified documents classified them as Cuban-born slaves, and they were transferred to the Amistad for travel to another part of Cuba.
The captives overpowered the crew, killing the captain and cook, and demanded to be taken back to Africa. But during the night, the crew changed course and the ship ended up along the U.S. coast.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=204803&ac=PHnws
Photos By John Ewing/Staff Photographer
The ship is a re-creation of the original schooner, which was seized by its African captives in 1839.
By ANN S. KIM
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
The Amistad pulled up to the Maine State Pier on Thursday afternoon, ready to begin its stint as a floating classroom in Portland for the next week.
The visit is part of an 18-month journey commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trades in the United Kingdom and the United States. The United Kingdom outlawed the trade in 1807 and the United States followed the next year, although slavery was still practiced.
The Amistad's 14,000-mile voyage retraced the routes of the slave trade. The ship set sail last year in Connecticut, traveled to England and Portugal, and then to Sierra Leone, where captives of the original Amistad eventually returned. The ship visited other spots in Africa before sailing across the Atlantic to Barbados and U.S. ports.
The voyage is one made "in the spirt of freedom and unity and democracy," as well as a celebration of the captives' return to Sierra Leone, said Donald George, the international coordinator for Amistad America, the organization behind the trip.
George is among the Sierra Leoneans who will be teaching visitors about the history of the Amistad.
The ship is a re-creation of the original Amistad, a coastal cargo schooner that was seized by its African captives in 1839. The incident, which was at the center of a human rights case, became the subject of the 1997 Steven Spielberg film of the same name.
The schooner offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the history of the era, and it is an ongoing educational experience for the students and crew who have been aboard for various legs of the journey, George said.
In addition to history and sailing, they learn to work together and become better leaders, he said.
"The moment you join Amistad, we recalibrate your thinking," George said.
In 1839, despite the abolition of the slave trade, 53 Africans were captured and brought to Cuba. Falsified documents classified them as Cuban-born slaves, and they were transferred to the Amistad for travel to another part of Cuba.
The captives overpowered the crew, killing the captain and cook, and demanded to be taken back to Africa. But during the night, the crew changed course and the ship ended up along the U.S. coast.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=204803&ac=PHnws
Photos By John Ewing/Staff Photographer
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
